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NH Chapter 17
Hero - Chapter 16 *Tok* *Tok* *Tok* *Shh* *Shh* *Shh* *Tlick* *Tick* *Tlick* Within the halls of the Royal Palace, three figures, each with their own rights to a dominating air walked through the Royal Dormitorium. From minor nobles not present within the trial to the mains and servantry, all made the greatest haste to clear the way for these three people. From just the mere sight of the first two, one might wonder if it is all but a dream, there would be no one within the entire palace who would dare to block their way. Most of those present didn’t even dare look up as they felt the natural need to bow their heads, or even fall to a knee, due to the sheer social class of these individuals. They feared that if they even made an attempt to gaze upon such beings, they would spoil their very visage. The youthful nobles, would of course, turn their gazes upwards to appreciate the two women of the group, to feast upon every detail as if trying to sate their ever burning hunger from within. To their great surprise, one of the woman was rather covered in blood, her cloths, or rather a distinct lack thereof, were in tatters. But, since there was a holy trial occurring within the main chambers, they all but assumed that this was in some part due to it. Not that they would question it due to the other two people that were walking along with her. While a few nobles looked past the blood to enjoy the beauty and rather exposed figure of that woman, most ended up becoming even more intimidated by the mere aura of the other two. The woman on the left was First Princess Sophia Lovett, heir apparent to the throne and owner of the Champion Knight. With direct support of the legendary Lord Isaac, her influence within the Royal Family was second to no one, not even the king. Then, there was the elderly gentleman on the right. That man was none other than the legendary noble, the forge of the crown, the golden mind, the united founder, Lord Isaac Kaylock. A man who had revolutionized all, who owned all, who knew all, and who gave all. From the lowest peasant to the peak of the nobility, no, he WAS the peak, the definition of power itself, an inescapable and over domineering pressure. Merely looking at him from such a close distance was enough for several of the servants to nearly lose consciousness. The youthful nobles felt as if their very flesh was being slashed by Lord Isaac’s very presence. So leads to the main question on the minds of these youths… who WAS that woman daring to walk BETWEEN such people! No, to even walk with them was beyond a dream, even for the first born of High Noble houses, to walk with such people might not be possible… One could only imagine… These beings before them… One can only imagine the sheer, nay, incomprehensible font of power one would have to draw upon to become... Beyond... Beyond their reach... Beyond their wildest dreams... Each one. beings beyond them had passed their pitiful existence without a care upon them... But... to gaze upon such beings as they within their lifetime... no... to witness the gathering of three such beings... simply... a gift from the light.... ... no... surely this is what true light is… *** One of the deeper regions within the Royal Capital’s Castle found itself nearly abandoned after the arrival of just three souls. That would be due to even the most esteemed servantry being requested to leave the area. That location, would be the Royal Chambers. Within this area resided the personal realm of each Royal Family member. Halls upon halls of glorified rooms, each decorated with a personal luster representative of owners past. That would be because, while it was still the Royal Chambers, the current occupants numbered less than twenty. In times long past, there would be an innumerable quantity of people of varied connection to the Royal Family gracing these halls, now, the Royal Family’s number had long since dwindled. King Gideon had been the last, and only now began to restock the Royal Family’s number. Of those who grace these halls remain the greatest of authority and blood within all the land, surely those of the serventry who maintain such an estate must be of suitable blood themselves. The maids and servants are all of High Noble blood. The only beings suitable for actually serving the needs of Royalty. It is not far off to say that the High Nobles send their youth off for the sake and chance that one of their yoke might bear fruit. Either by seducing a member of the Royal Family, or gathering secrets for use, heavens know that a single piece of information to use against Heraldr could save a noble family a hundred times over. The man had no weakness… he could not be tempted by even the the most alluring of noblewomen, and when a noble house dared to bridge out with a male… the result led to great grief upon the Great Vonderaman household as their fourth son was disgraced before the court. Indeed, if one of their yoke managed to gain any hold over one of the Royals, be it for the scandal, forced ties, or other reasons, this was the source of the sheer quantity of High Noble servantry that wandered these halls. While there were but less than twenty Royals, there was well over a hundred servants that tended to the Royal Chambers. While the Royal Chambers was a rather large area that occupied almost two square acres of territory within the Castle, only twenty rooms needed to be tended to with any regularity. It’s not like there would suddenly be an influx of Royals, they are all either children or youthful teenagers. Even the eldest, Princess Sophia had only just entered adulthood! The old King had already expanded his line and no other houses made an attempt to replace the late Queen Casandrena, nor did anyone believe the King would take a new wife at his age. Each of the rooms within the Royal Chambers were specially arranged according to the sole occupant’s tastes and desires. Every desire could be fulfilled, even if a Royal would desire several concubines or a lover, there were plenty of High Noble servantry specifically there for such purposes. It certainly was not as if the Royal Family themselves were not aware of the plotting of the High Nobles, it was just that there was no reason to truly worry. So long as Lord Isaac lived, their place was secure. While this level of complacency had not truly set in yet, the younger of the Royal Family lived on without a care in the world. Only the like of Second Prince Heraldr, First Prince Leon, First Princess Sophia, Third Prince Haegar, or Fifth Princess Eleanor had their eyes set on reality rather than the pleasures of their noble blood. In this hall, the party of three were now before a door made of black opal plates. The shimmering rainbow of colors would captivate just about any average onlooker. The room’s gateway surely matched the position of the owner, and reflected the unmistakable majesty of the Royal Family. This, of course, was the entrance to the domain of the First Princess of the Kremor Kingdom and heir apparent, First Princess Sophia Lovett. The three figures before the door were the aforementioned owner, Sophia, the hero, and Lord Isaac. Unable to get past her first impression of a door completely decorated in a precious and rare gemstone, the hero simply couldn’t help but comment. “Well, i’m not one to judge, so i’ll just ask now, why the hell do you have a peacock door Sophia?” Looking up at this unbelievable door, it was unbelievable how someone actually managed to gather up enough opal to make these large tiles, let alone to consider that it was black opal instead of regular opal. Coming from the middle class, seeing such a glamorous display of decadent wealth caused the hero to have mixed feelings. (First Princess Sophia) “It’s my birth crest stone… well that, and I really like the color.” Hearing the answer to her question… the hero simply couldn’t bring herself to comment and Sophia continued. (Sophia) “A few years back, a massive boulder filled with this majestic material was dug up in a lesser noble’s territory. That noble thus donated it to Isaac over here in his attempt to gain favors.” Isaac simply sighed and offered a short response, (Lord Isaac) “Well, I WAS looking for a gift to commemorate Sophia’s graduation from the Steward’s academy for nobility. It just so happened to fit my needs, so I purchased it for her.” And… the hero’s eyes slowly lost energy… slowly… slowly… the hero simply felt tired, though with obvious reasons. She was stuck between a Princess and a High Noblemen talking about their modest gifts… gifts that would have set the hero for life had it been in her world. To measure such a gift, the boulder in question weighed almost six metric tons, or ~13227 pounds. From there, the standard measurement of a gemstone is the carat, wherein a single pound would equate to ~2258 carats. That would mean if the boulder had been composed of the pure gemstone, it would be roughly 29,866,566 carats. But, this wasn’t any regular black opal, it was multicolored black opal. The difference being that normal black opal would be worth, in arbitrary units, ~15-35 currency per carat while multicolored black opal could be valued between ~150-20,000 per carat. Even though the boulder had only been roughly 60% black opal, one can easily see that the sheer expense of such a gemstone as this could have reached into the billions. Such an item had actually been regarded as a regular gift and used to decorate a doorway. It would have been a far greater surprise if the hero, coming from a normal wealth background, to have not been affected by such relaxed talks. The cost of billions for a door… In the end, the hero had no real choice but to just brush this realization off with a sigh. The gift of a rock with a net worth equal to the entire yearly budget of a normal modern day city. Seeing the hero sigh, Sophia let out a small chuckle and grinned, fully aware of how the hero’s current train of thoughts had wandered off at the mere exposure to the extravagance of the Royal Family. In response to Sophia’s light laugh, the hero threw up her arms and made her way to pass through the lavish doorway, but, just before the hero entered the room, she left Isaac a short comment without looking back. “Hey Isaac, did you ever notice the eyes of that Puppet King? Scary stuff right there…” Without saying another word, the hero entered the room. Isaac’s face shifted slightly, exposing that he had entered a certain degree of deep thought. A slight seriousness had taken over the calm disposition that always kept the face of Lord Isaac. (Lord Isaac) -Hmm… so she even noticed Gideon huh… sometimes I truly can’t belie But, before he could finish his train of thought, Sophia cut in. (Sophia) “Isaac? What did she mean about my father?” With her inquiry, Lord Isaac realized that his current demeanor was not the calm and collected High Noble, Lord Isaac Kaylock, but that of a troubled old man. In an instant, the worries slowly revealing themselves upon Isaac’s face vanished, the face full of collected confidence once again permeating brightly. His response was quick. (Lord Isaac) “Hmmm… what indeed. Well, if it is what I think it is, you’ll certainly have an answer before you both finish cleaning up, so no need for this old man to share his suspicions with this young Princess.” Sophia tilted her head questioningly and asked back, (Sophia) “You both?” (Lord Isaac) “Hmmm? Did you not notice that she had gotten her blood all over you during the trial? I actually have to admit my surprise that no one stopped us to inquire your condition, especially with that woman being drenched head to toe with blood.” Sophia’s gaze quickly looked down, and let out a *AHK*. Her carefree face turned into a clear frown as she pulled out her fabric to investigate. She had drops of blood stained into her dress all over, how in the world had she failed to notice something like this sooner? While the answer had been that she was fully captivated by the current string of events, asking such rhetorical questions often help release or relieve building stress or tension. Well, that, or help build it given the situation. (Lord Isaac) “Well, as much as I’d love to wait in a Lady’s room as two young women a third my age wash up, I have matters to deal with before we depart. Things are surely going to be noisy for a while, no doubt because of your friend in there.” Without saying more, Isaac turned down the hallway. After walking several feet away, he mumbled to himself “I wonder if she got to your father as well…” . While not intended for Sophia to hear, the silence of the halls carried Isaac’s words. Confused, Sophia made an attempt to question Lord Isaac, but only received the negation of an “You’ll See.” Oh, did she really hate when he did that. Throwing her arms down with a *Haaaah!* the Princess followed after the hero. Chapter 17 - END